6880 Springfield-Xenia Road
Yellow Springs, OH
How to get there
From Interstate 70, take the U.S. 68 exit south towards Yellow Springs, OH. It's a few miles down, on the left. From Interstate 75, take I-675 around Dayton to the Dayton-Yellow Springs Rd. exit, hang a right, and then a left onto U.S. 68 in Yellow Springs. It'll be on the right.
A Brief History
Young's Jersey Dairy came into existence in 1869 when relatives of the Young family built the red barn. Hap Young bought the 60 acre farm and house shortly after the end of World War II. For the next 10 years, Hap and his three sons (Carl, Bob, and Bill) farmed the 60 acres, plus up to 500 additional rented acres. They grew grain, raised hogs, and milked cows. In 1958, the three sons decided to sell their raw, whole Jersey milk directly to the public. They bought a used refrigerator, a few glass milk bottles, and went into the retail business. The local community seemed enthusiastic about visiting a farm to buy their milk, and they began to request other related products. In 1960, they added to the red barn and opened up their first real retail store. During the mid-sixties they added ice cream, cheese, and other related products. The first part of the Dairy Store went up in 1968. A bakery was added, which complimented the ice cream part of our business, especially in the winter months. In 1972 they doubled the size of the old building, using the old building for more traditional bottling operations. In recent years, they've added a full-service restaurant (the Golden Jersey Inn), a mini-golf course (Udders & Putters), and a corn maze, among other attractions. In 1999, approximately 1,400,000 customers visited Young’s Jersey Dairy.
Why you should go
Five words: best ice cream in Ohio. Made fresh, with tons of cheerful local teenagers laughing and giggling behind the counter scooping it into sundaes, banana splits, cups, cones, and of course shakes. The shakes come in three sizes: calf, cow, and bull, which are roughly: small, large, and large with an extra scoop for thickness. "Oh God," you might find yourself saying, as you clutch your poor tummy, "I'm lactose intolerant!" Fine. Bring your kids and watch them giggle hysterically at the goats. It'll cost you a quarter to feed them half a handful of pellet-type food, and the delighted squeals of the kids are worth going over to the pen even if you're not bringing one of your own rugrats.
Okay, so you don't like ice cream or goats. How about miniature golf? Maybe you'd prefer to head to the batting cages? A corn maze? If nothing else, you can get freshly-baked donuts that rival Krispy Kreme's, or a typical greasy spoon breakfast, lunch, or dinner from the bakery area. If you're in the mood for classier food, walk across the parking lot to the Golden Jersey Inn, which is full-service, and features country cooking served up hot by waitresses who will call you "Hon," "Darlin'," or something along those lines.
In a nutshell
The ice cream kicks ass--everything else is whipped cream and jimmies. The prices are not at all unreasonable--one can get a large, hungry-college-student-sized helping of ice cream for under $5.00, or a one- or two- scoop cone for under $3.00. The flavor of the week is almost always worth trying: the 2002 calendar includes black walnut, pumpkin, and butter toffee, all naturally flavored right there at the dairy.